Protect Your Standards

As women we should set standards and settle for nothing less. Too often we let other people set our standards and we are way too precious for that. Personally I've allowed people to set my standards because I wasn't respecting myself. I wasn't allowing my standards to be in line with Gods standards. I was letting this one person run all over me and disrespect me because I just wanted to be loved so bad because I thought he would be the only one to love me and my daughter. That wasn't Gods plan for me though. I brought that heartache on myself but God saw me through it. He turned that big ole mess into a message that I now share with others. I really can't express how important it is to set standards so others don't set them for you. Once you set them don't waiver. Protect those standards. You are worth it. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Don't let anyone make you feel less than because you set standards. If you don't set standards you will fall for anything and let people treat you any kind of way. If you don't set standards you will go too far and allow heartache in that God never intended for you to go through. Are you sick and tired of being treated any kind of way? The harsh reality of it all is that you allow it. Once you stop allowing it and find yourself more important than the disrespect then you will stop going through it. In order to get the respect you deserve you first have to respect yourself and then demand respect from others. Stop letting people walk all over you then complain about it. It all starts with you. Nobody can want it for you. You have to want it for yourself. Nobody can change the situation except you!


Much Love,
 Heather

Do you know your self worth?

Self Worth is something many women lack in today's society. They wanna be loved so bad that they will go out of their way to let any ole man be in their life. I for one know all too well what it's like to lack self worth. I've been there done that. I wanted to be loved so bad. So I just jumped around from guy to guy to guy trying to fill a void that they couldn't fill. I was so focused on creating a family that nothing else mattered to me. I wasn't asking God who was the best mate for me and my daughter. I was trying to do it all on my own. I was with someone who treated me horribly. He always told me how I wouldn't amount to anything without him. For a season I believed that. I constantly cried asking God why? I constantly cried asking God to take it away! God couldn't take it away until I was ready to shut that door and leave that relationship in the past. Even after ending that relationship I jumped into a relationship with my husband. I knew without a doubt I loved my husband and he was the one for me but I was still opening that door for my ex. It wasn't until I seriously started seeking God that I understood why he wasn't taking that pain away. It was never in God's plan for me to hurt the way I have. It was of my own doing that led me into those situations.  I've come to realize my self worth isn't defined by any man that currently walks this earth but by God! I've learned to cut people loose whether it be friendships or relationships! I refuse to allow anyone to be in my life who is gonna constantly bring me down and make me miserable. God has instructed me to guard my heart. Psalms 4:23 At this point in life and everyday I will only be surrounding myself with people who love me and celebrate me! I wanna be around people who are gonna push me to break throughs and not break downs. If you want a man to respect you and know your worth you have to define your worth and set standards. Nobody else can do it for you! Whether you know it or not you attract what you are. If you're attracting drama and disrespect, look at yourself are you full of drama and disrespect? If you're attracting trash maybe you are a trash can and people feel as if they can dump their trash off on you. If you accept a mans cheating and lying and still take him back time and time again it's nobody's fault but your own that he continues to do as he pleases. Are constantly in the mirror with tight clothes on taking pictures of your back side or flaunting your boobs? You aren't gonna get a mans respect by doing that. You're only gonna attract dogs.You're sure not gonna get anybody's respect by constantly telling facebook or twitter everytime you have a problem whether it be in a friendship or relationship. Stop asking God to take away the pain if you're not willing to shut that door. You have to allow God to work in your life. You have to seek him everyday. You need to read your bible daily and pray daily not just when something bad happens. I serve an awesome and faithful God but I have to be faithful to him as well. So re evaluate your life and love yourself before you try to love anybody else. 

So you have a baby?

So are you one of the ladies that had a baby outside of marriage? Well, I have good news for you, life isn't over. God still loves you. You made a mistake and a consequence of that mistake just happened to be a baby. God will see you thru it though.  I was one of the ladies who got pregnant out of wedlock. I not only got pregnant once but twice outside of marriage. My first time getting pregnant I was 16. When I found out I was devastated and thought my life was over. Little did I know that my life was just beginning. I hid my pregnancy from my parents until I was around 6 months pregnant. I just couldn't bare being a disappointment to my parents but my mom knew something was up and made me take a pregnancy test. All I could do was take the test and I came out of the bathroom crying. She was devastated and she cried with me. My dad on the other hand was really upset with me and wanted me to have an abortion but I knew that was out of the question. After days of being upset they started to come around and supported me thru it til the very end and even to this day. Having my daughter was a very life change experiencing. My delivery with her was very scary. I developed severe eclampsia with her and had a seizure as she was crowning. The doctor tried his best to deliver her but it just wasn't happening. So I ended up being sedated to have an emergency c section. It was truly a scary scary scary situation but I delivered a 7lb 9oz baby girl that goes by the name Anna-Grayce. It's only by the grace of God me and my daughter are here. All the prayers that were said on our behalf are the reason we are here today. The first 3 years of her life were a true roller coaster! I started my senior year with a 5 week old baby girl. I also graduated high school about a month and a half before she turned one! I also started Cosmetology school 2 months after graduating high school. Graduated with high honors a year later even though I decided not to pursue that as a career. I worked for about a year before I found myself pregnant again at 20.. Right before we found out we were engaged but he said he felt like things were to good to be true so he broke up with me. The moment I found out I felt so alone and broke down and cried and cried and cried but I knew I was the reason I was in that situation. I knew that being disobeying God was the reason I was in that situation. After a few days my now husband finally came around to the fact that we were expecting baby number two. At 11 weeks pregnant we decided to tie the knot. At 12 weeks pregant I was experiencing complications. I woke up and had blood just gushing so I rushed to the emergency room and the first person to rush to my side was my dad and I couldn't be anymore grateful for that. I was told I was possibly having a miscarriage and there was nothing they could do for me so they sent me home and put me on bed rest and told me to follow up with my doctor. I can remember laying in bed crying asking God to please take the pain away and let my baby survive. He listened to my prayers because now I have a happy healthy 14 month old. He knew the desire of my heart was to carry a healthy baby. (Psalms 37:4) I can't thank Him enough for allowing me to be a mama to my precious baby boy. The rest of my pregnancy was smooth sailing besides having headaches and blurry vision. 2 days after having my son I went home thinking everything was gonna be ok. I was wrong though I was rushed to the hospital with the worst pain ever in my neck and the worst ever headache. So in the er they did a cat scan and I was taken to the icu because they said I had blood on my brain. To this day I still haven't been able to get my situation straightened out but I know God won't leave or forsake me! (Deuteronomy 31:8) He works ALL things for my good! (Romans 8:28) God has been so unbelievably good to my kids,myself,and my husband. So just because you have kids outside of marriage doesn't mean you can't come back to the love of God. It's by his grace we are saved not by our actions. We will never be good enough but I thank God that he loves me unconditionally and takes me back no matter how far I stray off the path!

Much love,
Heather

Marriage

Ladies, do you desire to be married? Are you tired of just being the "girlfriend?" Well I got news for you! If you can't submit to God you sure can't submit to no man! God calls us to be submissive to our spouse!(Ephesians 5:22-33) Oh, you're tired of just being the girlfriend but you keep giving boyfriend the husband role! Do you really think he's gonna marry you? If you're letting him live rent free, have sex with him when he wants it, treat you any kind of way and expect him to wanna marry you that just ain't gonna happen! He ain't gon put no ring on your finger when you're already giving everything away for free. You expect respect but you don't even respect yourself! Let me tell you something get lost in God and let him heal you from the inside out so he can give you the man he has for you! You first have to submit to God and listen to his commands before you can submit to a man! (James 4:7) You truly have to rely on God. Ain't no man gonna love you right til you give it to God to handle. You're tired of heartbreak but you continue to open that door to that toxic relationship! God can't prepare you for the right one if you continue to hold on to the wrong one when God has clearly tried to remove this person from your life. Stop trying to do it your way and give it to God! Put a do not disturb sign on your heart and let God heal you! He will bring you the desires of your heart as soon as you submit to him with your whole heart! (Psalm 37:4) Let God prepare you for the right one and let him heal you from the inside out. Stop jumping from man to man and doing it your way! Marriage God's way is the BEST way!

True Love Waits

As Valentine's Day draws near I can only think of one thing to post about which is TRUE LOVE WAITS! Before I came to Christ and decided to follow him whole heartly I was awakening love before its time! I was jumping from guy to guy to guy just because I didn't want to be single. I was rushing something I wasn't ready for. I was rushing something God wasn't ready for me to have! I wasn't honoring God with my body! I was with guy after guy trying to fill a void in my life that only God could fill. I was believing I was worthless and not good enough so why does it even matter. Then I came to a point where society was telling me it was normal to be sexually active before marriage. Believing that put me in some bad situations. I thought being sexually active was the only way to keep a guy and to make him love me but boy was I wrong. It led to a lot of turmoil! I experienced heartache after heartache. I would cry and cry and cry thinking what did I do wrong? What I did wrong was believe that a man could satisfy me and love me in the way that I wanted. Let me tell you sex before marriage IS NOT worth it one bit! God designed sex for marriage and now I understand why. Its not to deprive you of something great but for you to enjoy something great with the one person God has designed for you! If you are already sexually active and you aren't married it isn't too late to stop and say let's wait until marriage. God will forgive you! We are all sinners and we all fall short (Roman 3:23)  but by God's grace we are forgiven even when we don't deserve it. It's NEVER to late to honor God with your body! He wants a relationship with you regardless of what you've done! He has a divine purpose for your life. Instead of awakening love before it's time be content being single and seeking God so when it is time for you to fall in love it's with the right person God has for you! Be patient! Awakening love before it's time will only cause heartache you don't wanna deal with. I will leave you with this verse Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. Song of Songs 8:4

Love,
Heather

Y.O.L.O

 As I sit and think about this overly used term YOLO, I think about what it truly means. Since I've truly had a change of heart the term takes on a completely different meaning than it use to. Before I truly gave all my heart over to God yolo meant going out to the clubs, drinking, and just living it up. You only live once right? Satan had a hold on me. I was going Monday-Saturday living like a heathen then in church on Sunday. Some days I felt absolutely lonely and so heartbroken. Then when I was out living in sin for those few short moments I felt alive but when it was all over I was back to feeling as if I was WORTHLESS. Satan had lied to me and I believed every word of his lies. Satan calls me by my sin and I refuse to continue to allow that to happen. Almost two weeks ago I hit rock bottom and cried out to God to give me a change of heart because how I was living wasn't getting it anymore. I truly understood in that moment of crying out I had to give God all of me not just part of me! I realized I can't go intentionally live in sin and think God was gonna answer my prayers and be near to me.  I realized I had to make God the center of my life! Nothing else was to come before him in any kind of way. In that moment YOLO took on a new meaning to me. YOLO now means reaching out to people who I probably never would've reached out to before. Serving in ways I never served before and giving God the glory for ALL the things going on in my life. YOLO now means taking on the challenge of impacting the kingdom of God. I know the devil will be  there to tempt me to do wrong but I know with God on my side I can flee from the evil of my previous life. Amos 5:14-15

Love,
Heather

Interrupted

First, let me introduce myself! My name is Heather. I'm married to my amazing husband of 1 year and 7 months. We have two beautiful children who call me mama! January 21, 2014 my life was interrupted in a way I never could've imagined. When I say interrupted I mean in a good way! You may ask who or what interrupted my life and I would be more then happy to tell you! Its not a what but a who! This who is none other than God himself. I can tell you before this interruption I was living like a pure heathen. I have always believed in God and was raised in church but I got off the path big time when I was around 15. By the time I was 16 I was pregnant! I was living an empty life just trying to fill the void of being lonely. I didn't realize at the time that I was headed into self destruction. At 17 when I was 7 months pregnant I found myself in a relationship that wasn't healthy for me whatsoever. I knew in my heart he wasn't the one but I continued to tell myslef he loves me and I really don't wanna be alone. Little did I know the relationship would get worse throughout the years. Not only was I involved in this relationship but I had my daughter around this person. A long the way he cheated on me and left me and my at the time baby daddy who is now my husband and I got involved again but my ex just wasn't letting that happen. So I ran back to him thinking things will be different but they weren't. By the time I was 19 I finally let go and got back with my husband. After being back together for a little over a month he popped the question and I said YES! Before you ask whyyyy? My husband and I had been talking for years. Since like the 8th grade. We had a beautiful daughter together when we we're 17. So that connection was always there. By the time I was 20 I found myself pregnant again before marriage! I was 3 month pregnant June 11, 2012 when we decided to go to the courthouse and make it official! The first year has been extremely rough.Our relationship was not Christ centered at all.  We would go to church on Sunday then the rest of the week we did what we wanted how we wanted. Then in April 2013 we we're told we would be moving 11 hours away from home to San Antonio, Tx because of my husband career in the Navy! Leaving my family was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do! I had never been more than 15 minutes away from my parents other than when I would go to summer camp! It took lots of getting use to once we moved here. My husband and I were fighting more and I cant tell you how many times I wanted to pack my bags and just come home but Im thankful I didnt because our marriage probably wouldn't exist if I would've. The past week we decided to put God first and stop saying were gonna do better and then never do it. Instead of putting ourselves and kids first we've started to put God first and what a tremendous difference it has made. God came right on time. I cried out for the desire to know him more and that's exactly what I got.

Love,
Heather